


Worst Come Worst

by NervousOtaku (orphan_account)



Series: Tales of a 144 Player Fansession! [40]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Discussion of Death, Friendship, SBURB Fan Session, Secrets, Theories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 04:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11683755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/NervousOtaku
Summary: Or: The Thief Of Space And The Bard Of Void Keep A Big Secret From The Rest Of The Session





	Worst Come Worst

“So this is the Land Of Spikes And Blankets! Looks a lot cuter up close!”

Cassidy peered up.

“Hello!” she said brightly, giving a lazy smile and wave.

Jonas grinned down at her, sliding down the spike he was on. His boots squeaked terribly on it. Like screaming mice.

“What's movie night looking like? You're hosting this next one, right?” the Thief asked in his usual cocky manner as he landed next to her.

“Unless the schedule got changed.” Cassidy nodded. She was sleepy. This pile of blankets was nice. Maybe she could nap here?

“Awesome. That means you'll need someone to help you set up, right?”

“Scott usually comes early to help me out.” she yawned.

“Scott, right! You two are a thing now! So easy to forget, you two are so different after all! You're so chill and he's always so wound up!” Jonas hummed, plopping down on the blankets next to her as she curled up. “Your planet is really sharp, huh? Dangerous and deceitful. Not at all like you.”

“They teach us lessons.” she hummed, tugging one of the blankets over her shoulder. It was soft and fuzzy. Good for cuddling.

“... You weren't always so chill, though. I remember. It was so weird that Rowley was friends with you, considering how lazy he is. You used to be so... _dramatic_. What happened?”

Without waiting for her to answer, he continued, “And I don't think half of us have changed at _all_. These planets are supposed to teach lessons, but have any of us really learned any of them? I mean, really, truly, learned our lesson? Kierra and Pygmalion just _blew off_ their planets for so long. They god-tiered and that was it. Well, okay, tentacle-boy went and chatted it up with the horrorterrors... Hey, just what exactly is their deal, anyway?”

Cassidy couldn't help but giggle as Jonas rambled. Her eyes were drooping. She was tired.

“... Hey.”

He suddenly sounded sad. Cassidy looked up, blinking several times to chase away the sleep in her eyes.

“... Come with me for a minute?” he asked, fidgeting.

Cassidy sat up with a slight groan, blanket falling away from her shoulders.

Taking this as a yes, Jonas grabbed her hand. Before she could say anything, he'd stolen space on his planet. She could tell it was his by the frogs and the sickening smell in the air.

The Land Of Acid And Frogs.

They were in his kitchen, which was apparently where his cloning apparatus was. One of the walls had been knocked down. Cassidy wondered if that was okay for the structure of the towering house.

“So,” Jonas said, letting her hand go, “I haven't gone to Charites yet. Or stopped up the acid. Or anything involving my quest. An acid bubble popped and splashed not too long ago, and ate through part of the wall. I knocked out the rest when I decided that it looked ugly.”

“Mm-hmm...” Cassidy hummed, picking up a frog to play with. This one was big, deep purple in color. Probably a key frog, then.

“Well, there used to be a pool right outside. I stole the acidity and used it to kill a bunch of underlings not too long ago, but... well, not before one of my frogs fell in.”

She snickered a little. “Are you in mourning?” she teased as the frog in her hands ribbited quietly.

“... Cass...”

Jonas looked to her with a haunted expression.

“That frog was far along. I mean, it was one of the ones I was supposed to send to Lucillie's planet.”

“If you need to redo it, then shouldn't a Time-player be better than me?” she asked, tilting her head. She wasn't quite following him.

Jonas ran his hands through his hair, pushing his hood back.

“... I stole the frog's genetics.”

Cassidy blinked. The frog in her hands hopped out and away.

“I noticed the pool, and how it was going for it... I _tried_ to stop it, but there was no way in hell I was catching it. I tried anyway... and I _changed_. _It_ changed. It had been glowy and stuff... but as it fell, it suddenly... _wasn't_. And I... I _was_.”

... Oh.

Oh.

 _Oh_.

“... You can't see it anymore... I wore it out, I think, but...”

“That's big.” Cassidy said softly.

Jonas nodded.

“ _Really_ big.”

“Yeah. And I think that for the first time since we got here, I am legit _terrified_. Am I _supposed_ to be able to do that? Was it a fluke? I remade the frog easily, but... but what exactly is the Thief of Space? What exactly is the _Aspect_ of Space?”

“Pyg called it the properties of matter and how one shapes the world around them. Creation, quality, form, and existence.” Cassidy supplied, trying to be helpful.

“Right. And I can steal the properties of things. Velocity, mass, strength, those things, and repurpose it to make myself strong. And that's a Thief. One who steals. Just like Bards use their Aspect to destroy. And with you it's obvious! You cancel things out, the horrorterrors cower around you, and there's this bubble of quiet around you! I mean, for crying out loud, you've become a sloth!”

Cassidy tilted her head.

She wasn't following. She was tired.

Jonas took a shuddering breath, running his hands though his hair. “I-I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing any more.”

“... You get better when you steal things. So... if you're stronger, you can achieve your goals, right?” she mumbled, stifling a yawn. The smell was disgusting. It was going to her head. How did Jonas cope?

“Well. Anyway. It made me realize something.”

The Thief looked at her, face expressionless.

“Cass, I could _become_ the Genesis Frog.”

It took a minute for that to sink in.

“... No. You would die.” she said once it did.

“I know, but... think about it. In a worst-case scenario... in a worst-case scenario, where the Genesis Frog is in danger, I could take it. I wouldn't be able to hold it, not for longer than maybe five seconds... unless you were around.”

“ _Me?!_ ”

That was the loudest Cassidy had been for months. The frogs around them startled, hopping about frantically. She was no longer sleepy, bright and alert.

“Look at my frogs. _Already_ , they're starting to settle after you scared them. You revert Kevin and Pygmalion back to normal whenever you're around. You halt people in their tracks, put them to sleep _at will!_ If it came down to it, you could contain the Genesis Thief!”

“ _No_ , Jonas, I'm _not_ going through with this!”

“I'm not saying that it _will_ happen! I'm just asking that _if_ it does, will you help me give everyone what they deserve?! We've been stuck here for so long, we're starting to go _mad!_ What if it happens?!” Jonas challenged. “The Seers aren't perfect! They can't see everything! Not even Caitlin and Pygmalion! And it comes out in riddles anyway! So all we know is that tentacle-boy says we all gotta make it to the end! Is that because some of us will have to be sacrificed?! Or because in his visions, one person dying dooms a timeline?! For all we know, I _have_ to die!”

Cassidy was going to argue the point, but...

... _but he had a point_.

He was right.

She'd been putting a lot of faith in the Seers, not doing much thinking. Deliberately leaving herself in the dark.

Destroys with and destroyed by indeed.

“All I'm asking, is _if_ it comes to it. That's all. I'm not saying, ‘Hey, we're gonna hijack the victory conditions!’ I'm saying _if_. So _if_ it comes to that, Cassidy... you'll help, right?”

His yellow gaze bored into her as she tried to find some flaw. Something to point out and tell him he was wrong about. But there was nothing.

Slowly, she nodded.

“Great... but don't tell anyone, yeah?” Jonas asked, putting forth a hand.

To the ribbiting of frogs, Cassidy nodded, shaking hands.

“Just our secret.” she said bitterly.


End file.
